CHICAGO, U.S., October 26, 2012 (Christian Post): (HPI Note: The following report is provided so Hindus can understand the most recent conversion methods involving deception used by Christian missionaries.)

It doesn't sound right: someone claiming to be both a follower of Jesus Christ while still identifying himself as a Hindu or Sikh. But some respected missiologists are defending the new communities in India called Yeshu Satsang as biblical.

Formed as a direct response to broken relationships that Hindus or Sikhs in India who convert to Christianity often must endure, members of Yeshu Satsangs seek to follow the Bible while still retaining their cultural identity as Hindu or Sikh, and thus retaining harmonious relationships with their family members and community. The communities are also a pushback against Western ways of worshipping Jesus that is seen as "other" and foreign to the community. A Yeshu Satsang can loosely be defined as a gathering of Jesus followers whose members are socially still identified as Hindus or Sikhs.

"Even though [they have] rejected the word and practices of church, they have retained a theological identity of church while seeking to retain their Hindu and Sikh socio-religious identity," explained Darren Duerksen, director and assistant professor of Intercultural Studies at Fresno Pacific University, at the recent North American Mission Leaders Conference in Chicago.

The Yeshu Satsang leaders Duerksen had met all come from a Hindu or Sikh background, and were discipled in Christian churches or parachurch organizations, he shared. Some of these Indian leaders started Yeshu Satsangs after reaching an understanding that distinguishes between the Hindu or Sikh ideology and their commitment to Jesus. These gatherings started some seven to eight years ago, and Yeshu Satsangs are concentrated mostly in Northwest India. Although there is no official count of how many Yeshu Satsangs there are in India, Duerksen estimates that there are at least 40 but less than 100 of these groups, each with at most 15 to 20 members.

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